Main menu

WarGaming’s Anti-Mod Crusade Goes a Bit Further

So we’ve all known of WarGamings actions (mostly bans) against illegal mod users, but recently it seems they’re making a further step away from users and now handing letters to sites hosting links to illegal mods, cheats etc.

Here is the letter:

As stated, official partner sites are exempt from this, and the usual batch of mods will likely be untouched for some time (<cough> XVM <cough>).

Edit: Full letter text, as the image is a bit small…

“We are contacting you with regards to the website <name censored> (the “Fraudulent Source”), which you provide hosting services to/are the owner of.

WarGaming.Net Limited hereafter referred to as “The Company”, is a company duly organized and existing under the laws of Cyprus, registered address: 105 Agion Avenue, 1080 Nicosia, Cyprus.

Particularly, the administrator/owners of the Fraudulent Resource are reproducing designs, artwork-game scenes, interfaces, and trademarks belonging to The Company, and violating the Company’s EULA and Game Rules.

The Company possesses all exclusive rights to this Project, and thus, is entitled to prevent third parties from use of it’s actual game, whole or part of it, trademarks, copyrights (artwork, pictures, interfaces, videos etc.), patents, and other intellectual property related to the Project (the “Intellectual Property”) without a special permission (license) from the Company.

Hence, the Company keeps records of its licensees and and partners and hereby confirms that no permissions or licenses or any authorizations of any kind, sale distribution or creation, have been issued to the administrators/owners of the website <name censored> for use of any IP, of such nature nonetheless.

Taking the aforesaid into account, we kindly ask you to:

Immediately stop offering power leveling, experience, gold, accounts;

Immediately remove all infringing elements/references from trademarks, logos to artwork, interfaces belonging to the Company, distributed for promoting your site or wherever else it may be used;

Immediately stop violating the Company’s EULA, Game Rules, and Terms of Service;

Immediately remove all content from Facebook, Twitter and any other Social Media related to World of Tanks, and delete such pages;

Immediately remove any artwork and any use of trademarks and any reference made to World of Tanks and World of Warships from the site; used to promote the site’s services, or wherever else it is being used;

Block the website <name censored>

in order to prevent further intellectual property right infringements and fraudulent actions against consumers worldwide; protect the interests of consumers and avoid their deceit and confusion as to the origin of this website and stop causing damages to the Company’s goodwill.

Any further supportive information is available upon your request.

We look forward to hearing from you no later than two weeks from the date of this letter.

Actually, there very much is. IP laws are fairly strict: if you don’t want somebody to use your IP, all you have to do is inform them. If use of said IP continues, you can go to court. Tried and tested method. This is how the pirate bay and its ilk have been dealt with.

That depends on what country you are talking about. Pirate Bay is a good example. The ban on Pirate Bay has actually been repealed in several countries several times, because they weren’t actually allowed to block it (I can open it just fine from the Benelux countries for example). They keep trying and doing it, but they really have to work for it.

It also depends on what infraction they are basing it on. Pirate Bay was because of them providing hacked\cracked software, which is obviously breaking a law somewhere. Illegal mods don’t necessarily break the law especially because WG’s own rules about what an ‘illegal mod’ is is very unclear (WG’s EULA and ToS are not laws), so it will be much harder to get that done. Especially since a lot of hosters already take a pretty hostile stance towards companies trying this.

Most mod sites I know don’t actually have a logo on it, so that wouldn’t work. And even if they did, simply removing it would overturn the ban, making it pointless.

And they aren’t really ‘hacking’ the software in the traditional sense to create those mods. An auto-aim mod for example has no additional access to any source code than any other mod does. Also, breaking WG’s EULA and ToS does not equal breaking the law, especially since WG’s own rules about ‘illegal mods’ is very unclear.

Considering the huge amount of effort organisations have put into getting hosters to block illegal downloadsites, which are clearly breaking on a much larger scale, consider how much effort it would take for them to get this done. Especially since most of those already are hosted in areas which are notorious for such content.

Not sure if it is just me but I can’t seem to open the image more, and the header says this is console news…
As of now, I don’t care what is done with xvm. Like myself, I am sure many others use xvm simply for the other features it conviently bundles in ( autoswitcher, better post battle, garage stats, etc) and I would not use the mod if WG would add those basic features in. They have done well so far implementing the expanded minimap and win % in the garage, and should continue this trend.
One last note, xvm doesn’t provide any information you yourself couldn’t get without the mod. If you think targeting a better player is cheating, then you must be against the new badges next to names as well, it is the same thing. Look at nearly and other mmo and you will see that they embrace player ranks and achievement, not attempt to hide it.

Id rather see badges then scummy colors in our names ever get focused down by artillery because your a green player? Or focused down in general and they all die cause they only target you? Its not fun at all..

Agreed. XVM has brought far more to the game than it has subtracted. look at the garage /user interface from 5 years ago… If not for XVM that’s the look and usability you still be stuck with. Because a few snowflakes get upset about focusing does not mean it’s a bad mod. Especially as those same people are usually falling over themselves to tell everyone how. Good they are

is there always a time where it’s NOT about the money? of course it’s abt the money. hell, even if it’s targeted to illegal mods, it’s still abt money because it causes players to quit the game, and that hurts the money.

Modpacks will be gone as soon as mod-portal launches. WG said it will be the only way to get mods, but since they still put just modpacks’ original installers there, i doubt they will make it like a technical blockade within the game. Most likely they will try to shut down every website featuring modpacks and the requirement of having your modpack in the official mod repository will be to shut down your website.

The reason for mods to be out there is to enhance the game abit as WG sounds and sights are abit crap.I agree cheat mods has to go but I think the mod portal would be great idea if it comes into being.

This action by WG of contacting third party sites who link to yet more third party sites offering potentially fraudulous content, mostly displays the ongoing issues they have in actually finding and blocking illegal mods in-game.

I think this is a step in the right direction. WG already have the mod portal on russia server, and I think this is a way for them to gain full control over mods, so its easier to say what is legal and not.
For instance, if you search google for “wot mods” the second link is a site where they are pretty much advertising illegal mods like aimbot, tundra etc.

Ummmm…. as far as I know, people that have developed mods (including the ones that were integrated into the game” did not need special permission/license from them. Since they encourage modding, they can’t use “use of it’s actual game, whole or part of it, trademarks, copyrights (artwork, pictures, interfaces, videos etc.), patents, and other intellectual property” or hacking as a defense.

Wargaming’s site states “WoT game Mods may be created by Indie developers, WoT players, history buffs, or anyone with a cool idea who takes the time to learn how to create them.” (http://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Modifications) and there is NOTHING about a license or special permission being required to develop them.